Lisa Bowen of Watkinsville, Ga., was selected as the 2009 Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Organizer of the Year Award recipient.  Bowen was honored at an awards banquet before more than 600 community tennis leaders during the annual USTA Community Tennis Development Workshop held January 22-24, 2010 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego, Calif. 

The USTA bestows the Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Organizer of the Year Award upon an individual who positively influences children’s lives and substantially impacts his or her community.  The award is named after Janet Louer, an individual who was instrumental in the development of junior tennis during her lifetime.  As the administrator for USTA Jr. Team Tennis in Georgia, she built the state championships into the largest youth team tennis state championships in the nation.  Her expertise also was utilized in the development of the section and National Championships for the program.

Engaged, enthusiastic, and eager are all words that describe Lisa Bowen, the JTT coordinator for the Clarke Oconee Tennis Association (COTA). Bowen took the reins of the Jr. Team Tennis program in the summer of 2008. At that time the league was enjoying some success, having an average of 250 youth participating the previous two years. The challenge was getting parents more involved, as well as getting the area's teaching professionals on the same page and supportive of the program.  In just 12 months, Bowen made great strides in both areas. By increasing parental involvement and garnering more support from area pros, the league's participation grew by 32 percent in her first year as coordinator.

Bowen’s willingness to embrace the QuickStart Tennis play format, is a major reason for that unprecedented growth.  Under her direction, the league added both 8 & under and 10 & under divisions, each utilizing the modified courts and balls of the QuickStart program, designed to encourage new, young players with shorter courts and equipment tailored to age and size. Incorporating the format into the JTT League created more work for Bowen and her team, but she approached it with optimism and energy, holding a workshop for parents and other volunteers, and working with facility managers to ensure the modified courts were set up for match play and court monitors were on site to assist.

Forging important relationships and reorganization are the staples of her success.  Bowen created a structure that helped parents and volunteers better understand their responsibilities, revamped the rules and regulations, implemented a parent/captain's meeting, streamlined league information, and regularly updated the COTA Board.

A testament to her efforts, the COTA 10U Beginners won the State Championship and three other COTA teams advanced to either a Sectional Championship or the Georgia-Florida Challenge. Additionally, 14-year old COTA player Annabelle Bartel was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in her division statewide.

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